How to attack Fred?

NewsBusters takes a look at what it calls three "trial balloons" from the media regarding potential negative storylines about Fred Thompson.

The first--that Thompson isn't to be trusted because he quit his acting job in order to run for president.

...right. Moving on...

The second--by running, Thompson is stabbing his friend John McCain in the back.

A compelling soap opera storyline, but I doubt it will get much traction in a presidential race. (I also suspect that someone across the pond has been reading a few too many tabloids.)

The third is the one I brought up a few days ago--the charge that Thompson is too lazy to be president, exemplified here by a new story in Newsweek.

Thus far, that looks like the most credible line of attack--and that's not much.

As I've said before, we haven't seen anything yet. When Thompson enters the presidential race, he's accepting an invitation to run the gauntlet. Thompson's opposition will give him as thorough a vetting as anyone could imagine--and if they can't manage to dig anything up, someone, in desperation, will make something up.

Either way, the media will fall on whatever comes to light like a pack of wolves.

And that's the point where we'll find out whether Fred Thompson is presidential material.

--Shack